MTR update

So pre the patch we had progressed (as we do) at a social rate. We had 9/12 bosses down with Nef, Cho'gal and Alakir left to down.

Since Cata we have lost a number of raiders for assorted reasons - usually quoted as wanting to raid/progress faster/harder/sooner/whatever. We also had a rocky period of time where in life stuff had me offline and not really engaged in Wow stuff. As a result some people got shakey and decided i was winding up guild so "Abandoned ship".



Sadly one of the few people who had any idea of what i was going through didnt "Become the glue" but contributed to the rot. Alas so are things when you try to keep things casual in guild management and leave officers to find their own role. I never wanted officers to feel obligated to do certain things but to rather step up and do the things they liked/wanted. As a result there was a lot not done.

Since the shakey time I reorganised the officer rank and created an expectation/role for those who were reallocated to officer. They are required to keep the guild ticking along whether im around or not and if they arent fulfilling a role then they join the rest back in the regular ranks. No longer are officers merely a name. Now they have a job.

We also started recruiting aggressively and have had a number come and go. Some quietly and one or two quickly with many happy to see them go. It astounds me how many people cant string a sentence without obsceneties. How many people are self focused (oh can i have that darkmoon card in the guild bank - WHAT?! you want me to contribute something towards it?!) or how many join a guild and then make no effort to engage with the others in the guild.

We try to be a social, chatty, friendly, and yes we are often quirky guild.  But i cant hold everyones hand and make them engage. They have to come part of the way themselves. However we have a number of rarely speakers in guild atm and they seem happy enough floating along on the fringe. who knows they may engage in time or just disappear when they have used the lvl25 guild benefits all they need.

However we have had a few GEMS join us. I am no longer top of the achievement board, having recruited someone I ran with historically when we both got spots with Gamblers. (Welcome back Gambled!) She is an absolute sweetheart and has now given those nipping at my heels on achievements a new target. Along with her came a hunter who has a wonderful accent - alas i scared him into silence by gushing about it. We acquired a new mage who is very talented at raiding but suffers the "Oh Noes" that
I use to suffer as a new raider. I think in time when she realises we arent going to scream at her if she makes a mistake or that she isnt failing that she will settle in beautifully.
We have had several more Kiwi's join the ranks to dilute the australian accents too.  I am feeling very positive about the people we have at the moment.

So we are now in a position again of having more raiders than spots in a 10 man and I am looking at a system of a rotation roster i saw a long time ago - back when i dreamed of having more than 10 people to call on.


I think overall we have a pretty good mix of personalities in guild. Some still need a little work and some I am still not convinced are keepers. But these days overall we seem to be a LOT happier, having more fun and more relaxed in raiding.

We have been doing a lot of olde world stuff in guild and the decision has been made this week to trim this back and focus on getting people thru the Cata raids and gearing up where we can. we will also be focusing on all the new Firelands stuff so we are splitting the week up to have a night for different things. olde world night, cata raids, firelands trash/rep runs and heroics for the orbs.

Saturday night we had our first ever night facing Alákir and downed him....
Sunday night we had our first ever night facing Cho'gall and downed him....
Nefarian is all the remains. We will try that this week but regardless we are all feeling very happy with ourselves. Yes there has been a nerf but both were still new fights to us.

Over the time that More than Raids has been running I have had some regrets but overall I think we are still on track - even if we waiver at times.

I regret that we lost a couple of kiwis that I was fond of...the thing I regret is that they didnt know me well enough to know they didnt need to dump all their toons from guild when they decided to "Raid" elsewhere. I regret that I never really found out why they left and that we no longer talk.

I regret that I hurt someones feelings and that instead of talking to me about it they stored up resentment about things until it was to a point that they went elsewhere with a bitter taste in their mouth not really understanding that I did value their contributions to guild. You can tell people these things after they have gone but its never the same as telling them before, when they need/want to know it.

I regret that I didnt acknowledge people as often as I should have for the things they did inguild and that they didnt know that I appreciated those things. (this is something I am working on changing)

But there are a lot of things I think I got right.... And so because of the people who stick by MTR, the people who still love the guild and feel the same sadness when people leave.... because of those people who are the backbone: I continue to play the game and enjoy the company I keep. If i was to focus only on those who leave it would be a hard road to keep going. So you have to keep focused on those who stay and continue to give them something to stay for.

Sometimes it can be hard getting a good mix. GM's burn out. Its a hard job balancing wants and desires of so many people. But its such an amazing feeling when it all pans out and the guild gets an achievement or a boss kill or someone in guild has a baby or gets a new job or has awesome news that they want to share with us.

And its also awesome knowing that we are here for those who dont have great days, a nice safe environment for those who need to hide from a little RL for whatever reason or be distracted from the crap day at work or whatever else it might be.

And its also a nice feeling when people share their lives a little bit with you. The good, the bad and the tragedy.

So to all the Gm's who care, who see their guildies as more than a progression team. I salute you! Your job is hard but its also wonderful and thank you for being there to give your guildies a Wow home too.

(yea sorry nostaglic dribble tonight - but im feeling that way )